Starting today, groups can register on the organising committee’s website to participate in the global gathering of young people in Seoul, on 3-8 August. Addressing a congress on school-based pastoral care, the pope said that, “Beneath the armour that many teenagers build for themselves to avoid suffering lies a deep desire to love and to be loved.”
Today's other news: North Korea publicly executes two minors for distributing South Korean films; Indonesia is set to approve a law that punishes extramarital sex with prison for both Indonesians and foreigners; China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Russia on the US "blacklist" for violations of religious freedom; the number of child brides is up in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power.
At the forum for reconciliation held every year by the Catholic Church of Korea, Archbishop Chung expressed deep regrets for rising tensions in the peninsula. “No interest or political relationship should prohibit interfaith dialogue and exchanges”.
In South Korea, 69.3 per cent of people aged between 25 and 34 have a university degree. According to the OECD, the disconnect between training and the labour market is increasing. A highly competitive system obsessing over access to the most prestigious universities feeds a market of extracurricular centres, starting in kindergartens, where parents send their children to enhance their performance.
Titled "Birth”, the biopic follows the life and death of the first Korean priest and martyr, killed in 1846 at the age of 25. It will open in theatres on 30 November, but a preview was screened at the Vatican this week. He “dreamt of equality and truth in a new world and tried to change it. And this is also a seed for the present,” said the popular Korean actor who played him.
Although South Korea is one of the world's largest armaments manufacturers, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said that his country is only providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, not war materiel. Media reports suggest, however, that South Korean artillery pieces are reaching Ukraine via the United States. This comes at a time of renewed tensions with North Korea.
The goal is to split Beijing from Moscow by working on the global economic crisis. Australian Prime Minister holds a “constructive” meeting with Xi Jinping. The Chinese leader and France’s Macron oppose the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Beijing is ready to speed up a trade deal with South Korea. Now everyone is waiting for the summit’s final declaration.
In the Itaewon tragedy that cost 156 people their lives, some hotel structures built without permits are also being investigated, allegedly making the alley where the young men died crushed in the stampede even narrower. Meanwhile, President Yoon met with religious leaders to seek advice on how to respond to the grief caused by this mourning that affects the whole country.
The country’s highly competitive labour market plays a major role as people sought fortune by investing borrowed money in stocks or cryptocurrencies. With the latter collapsing, they lost everything. Today almost 20 per cent of cases in bankruptcy court involve under-30s.
Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Europe asked to adhere to restrictions on the export of semiconductor technology to China. With the 'Chip Alliance' Biden aims to create a supply chain that excludes Beijing. The example of Huawei's 5G ban.
At the Angelus his thoughts for the young people killed by the stampede in the Korean capital, associated with the victims of terrorist violence in Mogadishu. Among the 153 deaths so far confirmed in Seoul were also citizens of several other countries including China, Iran, Russia and the United States. Commenting before the prayer on the passage of the encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus, the pontiff said, "It is permissible to look down on a person only to help him rise."
Msgr. Peter Chung Soon-taick wants to bring World Youth Day to Asia: "It would be an extraordinary opportunity to revive youth ministry in a country struggling with a demographic winter and an education system dominated by competitiveness." An announcement that in these hours is intertwined with the dramatic news about the hundreds killed and injured in the stampede for the Hallowen festivities in the Itaewon district.
The US Armed Forces have withdrawn all atomic weapons since 1991, but threats from North Korea are worrying. The politicians who have made the proposal are marginalised by the Conservative Party itself. 55% of citizens would like to see the development of a national nuclear programme.
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